LeBron James Picks Miami

Goodbye Cleveland, Hello Miami! LeBron James ended several months of speculations about his future plans on Thursday, announcing through live TV that he would be moving to the Miami Heat and join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to establish what promises to be an explosive triumvirate.

James said on the ESPN special “The Decision” that the Heat’s aggressive effort to bring Wade, Bosh, and him together in one team “was hard to turn down.” Aside from the opportunity to play with his two close friends in one team, James said the Heat also give him the best chance to win a championship, which has eluded him in his seven years with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

James accepted the Heat’s offer despite taking a $30 million pay cut. Bosh also agreed to take less money to ensure that three of the NBA’s best players would be playing together. James, who received offers from several other teams like the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls, said he “wanted to do what was best for LeBron James.”

And what was best for James was the worst thing that Cleveland wanted to hear on Thursday. The Cavaliers were so devastated by James’ decision that team owner Dan Gilbert could not hide his disappointment in a scathing e-mail. “The self-declared former ‘King’ will be taking the ‘curse’ with him down south. And until he does ‘right’ by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma,” Gilbert said.